ECONOTES 2011-03-23: Environmental Headlines for the Houston Region

Featured

1. Historic Houston’s Salvage Warehouse may close (Marci Gilbert – Houston Tomorrow, 03/18/2011)
   Historic Houston’s Salvage Warehouse announced that it may close unless it can raise more funds. Historic Houston’s Salvage Program and Salvage Warehouse serve the community by reclaiming and reusing historic building materials in order to reduce construction waste and prevent it from entering the landfills.
   http://www.houstontomorrow.org/livability/story/historic-houstons-salvage-warehouse-closes
2. New limits on mercury to cost Texas coal plants (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle, 03/17/2011)
   Texas has seven of the nation’s top sixteen emitters of mercury. Federal environmental regulators recently proposed the first national rules for toxic air pollution. This could have a major effect on Texas since its coal plants release more of the pollutant than any other state.
   http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/7476170.html
3. County Agents Change With The Times (Gail Delaughter – KUHF News, 03/24/2011)
   The county agricultural agents of the Texas A&M extension service are now directing more research and programs toward urban areas. The agents are focusing on topics such as water conservation, rainwater harvesting, and food security.
   http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1300678803

EcoNotes

• 22 March
  • State of Texas Awarded Over $350,000 to Conduct Wetlands Survey (EPA News)
    http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/e8f4ff7f7
  • Will South Texas nuclear expansion fall victim to Japan’s earthquake? (Texas Climate News)
    http://texasclimatenews.org/wp/?p=1475
• 21 March
  • Law would give two more counties voting power on water board (Zen T.C. Zheng – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7484484.html
  • Houston ranks in 10 most energy efficient cities (Marci Gilbert – Houston Tomorrow)
    http://www.houstontomorrow.org/livability/story/houston-ranked-among-top-10-most-energy-efficient-cities-by-epa
  • County Agents Change With The Times (Gail Delaughter – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1300678803
  • Does nuclear energy make sense? (ABC 13 News)
    http://www.greenrightnow.com/ktrk/2011/03/21/does-nuclear-energy-make-sense/
  • Some Fuel-Efficient Cars Can Take Years To Pay For Themselves (David Pitman – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1300682416
  • Forecasters Expect Drought To Continue Through Spring (David Pitman – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1300740886
  • Bike, pedestrian, transit, and livability funding could come this week (Jay Blazek – Houston Tomorrow)
    http://www.houstontomorrow.org/livability/story/bike-pedestrian-transit-and-livability-funding-in-the-mix
• 18 March
  • Historic Houston’s Salvage Warehouse may close (Marci Gilbert – Houston Tomorrow)
    http://www.houstontomorrow.org/livability/story/historic-houstons-salvage-warehouse-closes
• 17 March
  • Speakers: Lots of room for sprawl repair in Houston (Marci Gilbert – Houston Tomorrow)
    http://www.houstontomorrow.org/livability/story/kuhf-interviews-sustainable-development-experts
  • Divvying Up Bike/Ped/Road Money (Wendy Siegle – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1300318783
  • EPA spells outcoal-plant rules (John M. Broder and John Collins Rudolf – My SA News)
    http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/article/EPA-spells-outcoal-plant-rules-1164667.php
  • New limits on mercury to cost Texas coal plants (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/7476170.html
• 16 March
  • EPA proposes new rules for power plant emissions (Matthew Tresaugue – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7474646.html
  • Sugar Land Mayor Testifies For ‘Fair Representation’ On Regional Water Board (FortBendNow)
    http://www.fortbendnow.com/2011/03/16/50903
  • Bay City Nuclear Plant: how safe is it? (Carrie Feibel – KUHF News)
    http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1300316996
• 15 March
  • Would new Texas reactors be safer than Japan’s? (Tom Fowler – Houston Chronicle)
    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/energy/7473935.html
  • Texas bill would require disclosure of chemicals used in fracking (Jack Z. Smith – Star-Telegram)
    http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03/15/2924403/texas-bill-would-require-disclosure.html